In vivo growth of a mouse prostate gland from a single stem cell

Leong KG et al. (2008) Generation of a prostate from a single adult stem cell. Nature [doi:10.1038/nature07427]

A US study has demonstrated that a mouse prostate gland can be grown in vivo from a single implanted adult stem cell. A potential population of human prostate stem cells was also identified in the study, which raises the possibility of eventually replacing diseased human prostate glands by stem cell therapy.

The region of the gland proximal to the urethra has been postulated to be the location of prostate stem cells in mice; in this study, Leong et al. established that a number of known stem cell markers were preferentially expressed in the proximal region of the prostate, and also identified a novel potential stem cell marker, CD117. The researchers established that prostate stem cells were contained within the Lin⁻Sca1⁺CD133⁺CD44⁺CD117⁺ population, which comprises 0.12% of the viable cell population of the mouse prostate. Engraftment of single donor Lin⁻Sca1⁺CD133⁺CD44⁺CD117⁺ cells in combination with rat urogenital sinus mesenchymal stromal cells under the renal capsule of athymic nu/nu mice generated 14 functioning prostate glands from 97 single-cell transplants. Genotyping confirmed that the generated prostates originated from the donor stem cells.

Leong and colleagues also looked for CD117⁺ cells in human prostate samples; they identified a population of CD133⁺CD44⁺CD117⁺ cells at a frequency of 0.004% and 0.01% in nonbenign prostatic hyperplasia and benign prostatic hyperplasia samples, respectively. Such cells might represent a population of human prostate stem cells.